Sandy stared blank faced at his son. "Move in…together? Which means you would be moving out of this house? At 17 years of age?"

"Dad, I know it sounds a little crazy, but I can get a job and…"

"And not go to college? You'll end up working at a gas station the rest of your life and living paycheck to paycheck, barely scraping by" Sandy argued.

"I have to do this, dad. We have to. I don't ever get to see Caden. And besides that, I can't let Summer keep doing this by herself. It's not fair to her. She's a mess everyday. She gets no sleep, she's barely eating…I have to do something"

Seth's eyes pleaded with his father, begging him to understand. Everything he'd just said was the truth.

Sandy sighed. Seth was so hard-headed that there was no way he could say anything to change his mind.

"I'll talk to your mother"

Seth breathed a sigh of relief before rising from the couch. He saw a twinge of pain in his dad's eyes. "For the record, it's nothing against you guys. You're the most awesome parents…I don't know how you've put up with me this long"

Sandy smiled and pulled his son in for a hug. "We love you kiddo. That's how we've put up with you"

They both pulled away from the very heartfelt hug just taking place. "But you have to promise me that you're still going to college. You've got a full ride to UCLA and you're not giving that up"

Seth nodded. He had never planned to skip college. Sure, it was going to be hard managing a job, college, and a baby. But his love for Summer and Caden could get them through all of that. It had to. He was depending on that love.

Next Morning

"Sandy, are you actually considering letting him do this? He can't afford to take care of a baby and pay bills at 17!" Kirsten yelled.

Sandy nodded. "I agree with you, but he needs to do this. We can help him with money. Caleb will help him to. He promised he'd still go to college and make something of himself…and I believe him"

Kirsten placed her hands on the island in the kitchen, supporting her weight. She stared intently at the design of the counter top, following each swirl and speckle. She was losing her baby boy. He had grown up so fast.

Sandy slipped an arm over her shoulder. "He would have moved out in a few months anyways. He wanted to live in the dorms…so either way…we can't keep him here forever"

Kirsten nodded. She knew. But it was so hard to let go. "I'll hire a realtor to find them a place" she said, walking out of the kitchen. Sandy heard their bedroom door slam closed. This was going to be tough on her.

Moments later, a tired Seth entered the kitchen. "Morning dad" he said, grabbing a bagel from the glass bowl.

"So I talked to your mother. She's upset, but she agreed to let the two of you live together. She's probably calling the realtor as we speak. I'll transfer some money into your account and…"

"Wait, dad. I don't want your money. I want to support Summer on my own money"

Sandy was kind of shocked. Most teenagers would have taken the money greedily, and then asked for more. But Seth didn't want any of it.

"Well at least let me give you enough money to last a few months. That way you can save up money from your future job"

"Speaking of, I need to go find that job"

He turned to leave the kitchen but stopped, facing his father. "Thanks dad"

Sandy nodded and smeared a wad of cream cheese on his sesame seed bagel.

Monday—School

Seth wrapped his arms around Summer's turned back, covering her eyes with his hands. She giggled and spun around, accepting the flower Seth handed to her.

"Good morning" she said, placing a lingering kiss on his lips.

"It's actually going to be a great morning when I tell you what I'm about to tell you" he said, backing up from her a little.

She eyed him curiously. "What'd you do?" She was excited but a little worried. Some of what he called romantic gestures turned out to be terribly stupid things.

"I talked to my dad who talked to my mom who talked to her realtor who found us our very own house" he said, pulling the flyer out to meet her eyes. There was a picture of a tiny white house on the front of it and the description was underneath it.

She pushed the flyer down and met his eyes. "Our what?" she shrieked.

"Our house" he repeated. "I talked to my dad and he talked to my mom and their both ok with it. I want to live together"

Summer's mouth dropped open. "Are you crazy? We can't live together Seth"

He could tell she wasn't happy. "Yes we can Summer. I bought this house for us. I want to help raise Caden"

"What, so we can turn into the Walton's? No!"

"The Walton's were like Amish or whatever…this is totally different"

She tilted her head and glared at him. "I was talking about the 'one big happy family' part" she said dryly. "I've gotta get to class" she said, shoving past him.

Seth stood in the middle of the hallway. Student's scurried past him, rushing to their classes. He didn't move. He thought this would make her happy. But she despised the idea.

"So she didn't take it well I presume" he heard a familiar voice say.

Seth turned to face Ryan. "She hated the idea. Something about not wanting to be the Walton's…I just don't get it. I thought she wanted this. I don't understand the minds of women"

Ryan laughed. "Yeah well join the club. No guy does"

Lunch

"I can't believe she turned down the offer" Anna said, sipping her grape soda. "I mean, you'd think she'd be jumping for joy"

Seth raised his eyebrows. "Yeah well instead she ran to class. She's been ignoring me all day"

Marissa swirled a fry in a lake of ketchup and popped it in her mouth. "Well I haven't talked to her yet, but I'll get the scoop…be quiet she's coming"

The table fell silent. They all awkwardly glanced at each other when Summer pulled a chair up. "I've never known this table to be so quiet" she said, looking around.

None of them said anything. Seth glanced at Summer from across the table. She did the same, but when she met his eyes she quickly looked the other way.

"Well I've got to use the ladies room" Anna said, standing up. Marissa took this as her chance to exit also. "Actually I've got to go to" she said, joining Anna.

Ryan watched them walk off. "I've got that math test to study for"

Rising from the table, he ran to catch up with Anna and Marissa.

Seth stared at Summer across the now empty table. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted earlier. It was a shock"

She wouldn't look at him. But that was Summer. She was never happy to apologize for things. It wasn't easy for her.

"Listen, if you truly don't want this, then that's fine. I'll sell the house. I just thought that you wanted this"

Her eyes finally looked up from the table. "Well, I got to thinking about it. I do want to. And besides that…we need to. We need this"

Seth shook his head. "Don't think about what we need. Think about what you want. What do you want?"

Her mouth went dry. Did she want this? It kind of scared her because something was screaming for her to say that she did want it.

"Summer, what do you want?" Seth pressed.

"I want this. I want to live with you"

Seth smiled and stood up from the table. Summer did the same. They walked toward each other and hugged tightly.

They both knew this was a big step, but they were ready to take it.

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Sorry for not writing. I had expected to have a chapter up last Saturday, but that didn't happen. But I hope you liked this chapter, and thank you for reading it! Ya'll have spoiled me with the great reviews, so please keep them coming! haha